*Shwaaa—!*

A sharp sound as the air is sliced.

Following that, a spear hurtles toward me, fast and precise. It’s a straight, swift strike.

I calmly raise my sword like a shield.

*Thunk!*

A heavy impact hits my hand right after. My body naturally gets pushed back.

The strength behind that blow is unbelievable, especially coming from such a delicate frame.

After recovering my stance from the electrifying sensation, I hear the expected taunt.

"You're holding up better than I thought. I expected you to be knocked out instantly."

A sneer twists her lips.

Emilia holds an ice-formed spear in her hand—her signature ability, [Freezing].

"But you're still just an insect!"

*Swish!*

From behind, I hear something sharp speeding toward me.

I easily twist my body to dodge it.

*Thud!*

A single arrow lodges itself into the ground.

I turn to see shards of ice flying at me from my blind spot—a sneak attack aimed at an opening.

But I'm not alarmed.

"My, my~ this is troublesome."

*Shing!*

I leisurely swing my sword, slicing the arrow in half. The ice shards fall to the ground.

"Tch...!"

Emilia clicks her tongue as she steps back, annoyance filling her blue eyes.

Is she starting to feel shaken?

The "bubble top student" she expected to fall easily is effortlessly blocking her attacks.

I smile faintly.

"Things don’t seem to be going your way, do they?"

"...Ha!"

She scoffs.

She likely never imagined hearing such a taunt from someone she had looked down on.

As expected, her mental state is fragile.

"You... dare...!"

"Oops."

*Clang!!*

The sharp sound of steel clashing fills the air.

Her emotional strike is swallowed by the shadow of my sword. We briefly engage in a contest of strength, our weapons pressed together.

Her eyes blaze with murderous intent.

*Scrape... thunk!*

I push Emilia back, forcing a little distance between us.

"This is disappointing."

I continue teasing her with a cheerful smile.

"You spoke so confidently, but it's been 30 minutes, and you haven’t even managed to graze me once."

"Shut up."

"At this rate, becoming the top student seems unlikely."

"I said shut up...!"

Ah, what happiness.

This is dopamine.

Her reactions are priceless, and I savor the taste of goading her further.

I continue to deflect the sharp thrusts of her spear while grinning, still tormenting her.

"Perhaps you should at least aim for my feet?"

"I'm going to rip you apart... that mouth of yours...!"

"Oh, I can't wait. May I ask when you'll be doing that?"

"How dare you mock a noble of House Vanity!"

"The standards of Vanity seem awfully low if this is what counts as an heir."

*Clang! Crunch, scrape...!*

The piercing noise grows sharper as Emilia gets swept up by the atmosphere.

The duel is starting to look one-sided.

*Huff, huff...!*

Emilia’s breathing becomes heavy as if she's exhausted.

Her blue hair is damp with sweat. By now, her legs should be giving out, but she's still gripping her spear.

As expected of a tenacious fighter.

*Huff, huff...!*

"You are quite skilled... but you chose the wrong opponent."

That part was genuine.

As much as I enjoyed this game of teasing her, I wasn’t deliberately underestimating her.

Emilia was undoubtedly one of the most talented students of this generation.

Her foundation was solid, honed through hard work. Her mastery of ice magic, combined with her spear techniques, sniping skills, and psychological warfare, was already beyond student-level.

With just a slight exaggeration, I’d say two Emilias could take on Charlotte.

Her talent was something history would remember.

It was well-founded confidence.

But... her opponent wasn’t human.

"Ha~ That kind of attack won’t reach me."

*Shing!*

I once again deflect an arrow of ice from my blind spot.

The ice fragments scatter to the ground.

I hear murmurs of disbelief from the watching students.

"What... what are we even seeing?"

"Lady Vanity can't even put up a fight... is she in bad shape?"

"The bubble top student is fighting way too well."

"He’s completely dominating."

"He’s been on the defense this whole time, like he’s... playing with her."

'Playing with her.'

Emilia must have heard that too.

The reactions of the crowd, the collapse of the reputation she had worked so hard to build, and the trap she had meticulously prepared were now backfiring on her.

This was a direct attack on the scars of her inferiority complex.

"Perhaps you should surrender now?"

"..."

I threw her own words from before the duel right back at her.

Since I had decided to take this seriously, I planned to crush her until she was in tatters.

Of course, Emilia refused to accept defeat.

After catching her breath, she clenched her fists and glared at me.

"...Not... a chance."

A dangerous aura emanated from her.

Stubborn as ever.

It seemed she was determined to see this through to the end.

Emilia threw away her ice spear and brought her hands together, drawing out more power.

Her once-clear blue eyes were now clouded.

"I will not... lose... to someone like you...!"

*Crackle, crackle!*

Blue sparks flew.

Her remaining mana surged violently.

She was forcing herself into a "mana overload" state by colliding her limited mana reserves together, generating enormous friction.

This reckless method was something few could control.

Amid the turbulent mana, her red lips began chanting a spell.

"Oh, bitter winter."

---

Before history was written, the pure world was covered in frost by Maribel, who first conjured the winter's flower.

Heed my call, as the rightful heir of winter.

I seek your merciless slaughter.

With the tears of fallen witches, I build the tower of sorrow.

---

"Erase everything."

---

- Emilia Ryu’s Ultimate Freezing Spell -

**‘Frostbite’**

---

As soon as the incantation ended, the temperature around us dropped sharply.

A white frost began to spread from her feet.

Frosty breath escaped her lips.

Massive ice chunks floated behind Emilia.

"Haa..."

The sky above us filled with tens of thousands of ice spears.

As I took in the breathtaking scene, I couldn’t help but twist my lips into a smile.

She was using her ultimate move.

Seeing it in person after having only watched it in the game was quite an experience.

*Sssshhh!*

The pressure was overwhelming.

Even the noisy crowd fell silent.

"...."

"...."

For a moment, our gazes met.

Neither of us held any thought of defeat.

Only the firm belief—or the poison—of victory gleamed in our eyes.

A brief moment of standoff.

---

"Winter."

---

The peace shattered as Emilia’s red lips recited the final line.

---

"Unleash yourself."

---

At that instant, all the spears of ice above us rained down in unison.

It was like a blue-green storm.

*Swoooosh!*

The violent downpour was, of course, aimed at where I stood.

An overwhelming torrent of despair.

But...

"Haha."

Even in that moment, I smiled.

As if I couldn’t contain my excitement.

"Impressive."

Since she had shown me something amazing, it was my turn to return the favor.

I extended my hand.

The black mist stirred.

I calmly concentrated my *Lie*.

*Shwaaa—!*

The sound of the surrounding air being torn apart.

I pointed my index finger toward the falling downpour.

The shadows writhed.

"Haha."

No need for anything as grand as what I showed against Charlotte.

This is just a simple difference in power.

I only needed to crush her with sheer force.

Gathering the power at my fingertip, I recited the spell as if pulling a trigger.

"Shatter."

Click.

In the next moment...

The entire arena turned pitch black.

---

The students were all filled with excitement.

The duel between the "bubble top student" and the "villainous noble lady."

"Lady Vanity is finally drawing her sword."

"That guy's in trouble now."

"Yuda Snaikers... turns out he's more skilled than we thought, but it never made sense for him to hold the top spot."

"It’s absurd to think he surpassed the princess."

"Still, this is going to be quite a spectacle."

Even though they weren’t as vocal as Emilia, many students had questioned the results of the class placement exam.

For them, this duel was intriguing.

It was a chance to see the true power of the boy they couldn’t witness during Charlotte’s barrier-shielded match.

"Who do you think will win?"

"Lady Vanity, of course."

"Obviously."

"She’s exceptional. If it weren’t for the princess, she’d have taken the top spot ages ago."

"They say no one her age can rival her in ice magic."

There weren’t many expecting an upset.

Everyone knew the weight of Emilia’s name.

"I’m betting Lady Vanity wins in one minute."

"I’ll take 30 seconds."

"You’re all underestimating her... I think she’ll win in 5 seconds."

The students in the audience made bets on the outcome.

They were sure Yuda’s defeat was inevitable.

---

But, contrary to their predictions of an overwhelming one-sided fight, the duel quickly turned into an intense battle.

---

*Shing! Scrape... thunk!*

At first, it seemed like both were evenly matched.

"What’s this?

 He’s lasting longer than I thought."

"His moves are clean, and his reactions are sharp... I thought they said he was a fraud?"

"Yeah, he's really good."

"In the end, Lady Vanity will still win, but... wait a minute?"

As time passed, the atmosphere shifted.

It started to feel one-sided.

Emilia was beginning to show signs of fatigue, while the boy continued dodging her attacks effortlessly.

And he hadn’t even launched a single attack yet.

"What... what are we even seeing?"

"Lady Vanity can’t even land a hit. Is she having an off day?"

"The bubble top student is fighting way too well."

"It’s almost like... he’s playing with her."

As Emilia was visibly losing ground, the students in the audience grew uneasy.

The fact that Yuda could even match Emilia was surprising enough, but now he was going beyond that, clearly dominating her.

The unexpected turn of events shocked everyone.

How could this be?

Wasn’t Yuda supposed to be an ordinary, unimpressive student?

Then, what were they witnessing now?

"This can’t be real."

"Is Lady Vanity being toyed with?"

A disturbing thought crossed their minds.

Was the class placement match, which had caused such an uproar, not a fluke after all?

Had Charlotte forfeited not because of whim but because she realized her opponent was unbeatable?

The thought was absurd, yet...

"No way..."

The tension in the air grew thick.

Then, the duel reached its climax.

---

"Winter."

---

The cornered Emilia was on the edge.

It was as if she were walking on the sharpest blade.

Yet, she refused to back down.

Forcing the last of her mana to explode, she unleashed the greatest power she could muster.

The sky turned icy blue.

"My god... what is that?"

"We knew she was a prodigy, but I had no idea she was this powerful..."

"The arena’s going to be obliterated."

"Is someone going to die in this match?"

"Shouldn’t the referees step in...?"

Frantically, the students looked for the professors, but they remained silent, watching intently.

In the end, Emilia finished her chant.

The countless spears of ice in the sky moved.

---

"Unleash."

---

*Boom!*

A deafening roar pierced the air.

The savage winter storm seemed poised to consume everything in its path.

It was as if they were witnessing a small-scale apocalypse.

"Kyahhh!"

"What do we do?"

"Even if he is the top student, there’s no way he’ll survive this without serious injury..."

The students screamed, foreseeing disaster.

But.

The boy was different.

He simply chuckled to himself, standing perfectly still.

He raised his hand and aimed his finger at the sky.

Was he insane?

Shouldn’t he be retreating in the face of that storm?

The students screamed again.

But Yuda ignored them all.

He quietly murmured.

---

"Shatter."

---

For a brief moment, his slitted eyes opened.

His transparent, white pupils gleamed.

Time seemed to stop.

---

At that moment.

A shadow shot from his fingertip.

It pierced through the storm of ice spears, quickly spreading in all directions.

The sky turned black.

---

*Crack, crackle!*

---

In an instant, the ice spears were coated in shadow.

The surface of each spear turned pitch black, freezing in midair.

The darkness dripped from their tips.

---

*Snap!*

---

Then, Yuda snapped his fingers.

Elegantly.

In the next instant.

---

*Shatter!!*

---

The ten thousand ice spears.

Shattered all at once.

The cruel winter scattered into countless pieces.

Fragments crumbled and crumbled further.

---

*Wheee...*

---

Black snow began to fall.

Carried by the gentle wind, the black snowflakes danced gracefully in the air.

Like a snowfield soaked in night.

---

It was strange, yet beautiful.

Everyone’s eyes were drawn to the layers of black snow piling softly on the ground.

A mesmerizing sight that shimmered with an eerie glow.

---

“...”

“...”

---

The audience fell silent.

The students stared blankly at the black-streaked winter, captivated by the surreal sight.

They had forgotten even the chaos from moments ago.

---

*Crunch, crunch...*

---

Amidst the dreamy landscape, a lone boy stepped forward.

Yuda’s voice was soft as he asked, almost kindly.

---

“Do you still want to continue?”

---

It was a voice that could enchant anyone who heard it.